All that is Solid … is a radical blog that seeks to promote a future beyond capital's social universe. "All that is solid melts into air" (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 'The Communist Manifesto', 1848).

A conference to be held on 25 and 26 April 2013 organised by: The Higher Education Research Group (Institute for Education, Community and Society, The University of Edinburgh) in partnership with The Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE)

CALL FOR PAPERS

While higher education is known to enhance people’s life chances, questions remain to be asked about how the goods to be gained from higher education are presently distributed. Despite policies that are meant to increase access to higher education for under-represented sections of society we know that in a highly stratified society and higher education system even widened entry does not guarantee greater social justice in relation to access, for example. Against this backdrop, broad questions that the symposium will address include: To what extent and how do higher education policies and practices make a difference to this world? What are present priorities and how could things be otherwise? To what extent does higher education address community and environmental concerns? To what extent are participants encouraged to make a contribution to the world?

This conference, and a book that will be associated with it, therefore, seek to explore social justice in and through higher education by examining recent policies and practices in relation to six broad strands of higher education: Research and knowledge mobilisation; Curriculum; Pedagogy; Access and participation; Institutional leadership; Quality and educational development. Contributions in each section seek to analyse the assumptions underpinning policy and practice, arrive at judgements about the extent to which the world is seen to matter and offer suggestions on how things could be different from how they are. Running across these six strands are concerns related to internationalisation, funding, and lifelong learning.

All submissions are subject to a blind peer review process. Proposals are invited for Individual Papers. Each paper accepted for individual presentation will be allocated a minimum of 30 minutes for presentation and discussion.

Timetable for submissions

All proposals must be submitted via email to fsmit@srhe.ac.uk . The deadline for submission is 1 March 2013.

Call for Papers- Format for submissions

To maintain the high quality of papers presented at the conference, and ensure that the review process has access to a sufficient level of detail on paper proposals to take an informed view, submitting authors are asked to provide a short paper for peer review in two parts.

Please note that both parts will be required at the point of first submission, but there will be no subsequent call for fuller papers for accepted abstracts.

• Part 1 Abstract: a 150 word summary of the proposal which will be printed in the published conference programme and also made available at conference on the CD Rom.
• Part 2 Outline: a maximum 1000 word paper (not including references)

Conference Venue
The symposium will take place at Paterson’s Land, Moray House School of Education, Holyrood Road, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 8AQ. All rooms are equipped with a screen and laptop.

The School of Education is located in the picturesque OldTown area (off the Royal Mile, or Canongate). It is a 10 minute walk (or three minute taxi ride) from Edinburgh Waverley train station to the School of Education. The City of Edinburgh is easily reachable by train and most airlines (Easyjet and Ryanair offer low-budget flights from several cities in England). Travel from Edinburgh Airport to the City Centre (final stop at Waverly Bridge, right opposite Waverley Station) by Airlink bus service takes approximately 30 minutes (and a single journey costs £3.50) and by taxi the cost is between £18 and £20.

The City of Edinburgh offers many attractions for conference participants considering spending the weekend. It also features a wide range of cafés, bistros and restaurants and a good number of reasonably priced hotels close to the conference venue (e.g., IBIS at Grassmarket, The Jurys Inn on Jeffrey Street, The Travel Lodge on St Mary’s Street, and the highly praised Salisbury Green Hotel, situated on the University’s own premises at Pollock Halls).

Conference Fees and Booking

Fees are £150 (£130 for SRHE members) and include all refreshments during the day on both days (excluding dinner) and the conference programme. Any overnight accommodation is to be organised and paid directly by delegates. Sorry, there are no single day fees.

Employees of the University of Edinburgh may attend free of charge, but must register in order to attend this event, and should e-mail their full name, contact details and any special or dietary requirements to Nicola Manches at nmanches@srhe.ac.uk